Sana’a, Dec 3 (EFE).- Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Sunday that the United States has “no right” to respond to their attacks in the Red Sea, where a US destroyer intercepted drones as it assisted commercial vessels hit by missiles.
“The Americans have no right in the Red Sea,” wrote Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, member of the powerful Supreme Political Council of the Houthis, on X, adding that the US would not accept any military presence of China, Russia, or others in the territorial waters near Florida or elsewhere.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea added in a televised speech Sunday that the insurgents carried out an operation against two Israeli ships in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and identified the vessels as the Bahamas-flagged “Unity Explorer” and the Panama-flagged “Number 9.”
The United States Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement that three commercial vessels were attacked Sunday in the southern Red Sea, where the destroyer “USS Carney” “responded to distress calls” from the ships, which were hit by missiles and damaged, but without casualties.
According to the statement, the United Kingdom owned and operated “Unity Explorer” was attacked with ballistic missiles fired from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen, and subsequently, the “USS Carney” shot down a second drone while it assisted with the “damage assessment” of the commercial vessel.
Shortly afterwards, another missile hit the Bermuda and UK owned and operated “Number 9” in an attack that caused damage but no casualties.
The last vessel attacked with a missile was the Panama-flagged “Sophie II,” which “reported no significant damage.” As the “USS Carney” approached to provide support, she shot down another drone headed towards the destroyer, according to the statement.
It added that the US has “every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran,” a country that supports the rebels.
“The United States will consider all appropriate responses in full coordination with its international allies and partners,” it stated.
Following the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis threatened to attack ships flying the Israeli flag or owned by Israeli companies transiting the Red Sea in support of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
In mid-November, insurgents captured the vehicle-carrying freighter “Galaxy Leader,” which is owned by a British company reportedly linked to an Israeli magnate, but operated by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen (NYK Line). EFE
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